# Tobacco in Melbourne, Australia?



## Irfan (Dec 18, 2011)

Anyone out there know if there are any good tobacconists in Melbourne, Australia?

Anyone know if the arrival halls at Tullamarine airport have a duty-free shop where you can get pipe tobacco? If so, what brands? I heard they've drastically reduced the duty-free allowance to only two packets of ciggies, so I guess you'd only be able to buy a small tin. Considering that I've heard pipe tobacco goes for about $40 for 50 grams, it's still worth getting hold of.

Anyone know if you can get nasal snuff anywhere in Melbourne?

I'm doing a quick trip back to the old home town next month, always pays to be prepared.


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## Mante (Dec 25, 2009)

Can't post you a link here as they sell Cubans but I'll PM you a link to a shop in Toorak. They carry Dunhill, Peterson & a few McBarens. You will need a big billfold though as the prices vary between $42 & $52 AUD. :thumb:


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## Thirston (Feb 2, 2011)

Haven't been to Melbourne in a few years. Great city. Too bad tobacco's an arm and a leg.


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## Irfan (Dec 18, 2011)

Tashaz said:


> You will need a big billfold though as the prices vary between $42 & $52 AUD. :thumb:


Ouch. That's what a pound of CnD Tuggle Hall costs me in Jakarta, with shipping and bribes to customs included. Thanks for the link, though. Do you happen to know if they sell snuff?


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## Mante (Dec 25, 2009)

To my knowledge snuff is nigh on impossible to buy here. :noidea:


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## Andrewdk (Feb 3, 2011)

Cignal in Frankston has a good range including SG and McC blends but exorbitant prices, 35-50 a tin.


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## Chris0673 (Aug 20, 2012)

Holy cow! Why's tobacco so expensive down there?


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## Irfan (Dec 18, 2011)

Chris0673 said:


> Holy cow! Why's tobacco so expensive down there?


One word: taxes.

Cigarettes are around $17 per pack.


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## steinr1 (Oct 22, 2010)

Irfan said:


> One word: taxes.
> 
> Cigarettes are around $17 per pack.


Wow. And I thought we has it bad in the UK. Cigarettes are about £8 (I understand) and loose tobacco is around £11 for 50g.

The high Duty is a bit of a double-edged sword in my opinion, however. Government is tied into the sale of tobacco for a good chunk of revenue so an outright ban on tobacco is less likely. And that goes even more for alcohol. The Health Nazis may bleat about smoking and drinking, but this falls away at the ballot box when faced with policies that would mean higher taxation for those sainted souls as well.


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## Irfan (Dec 18, 2011)

steinr1 said:


> The high Duty is a bit of a double-edged sword in my opinion, however. Government is tied into the sale of tobacco for a good chunk of revenue so an outright ban on tobacco is less likely. And that goes even more for alcohol. The Health Nazis may bleat about smoking and drinking, but this falls away at the ballot box when faced with policies that would mean higher taxation for those sainted souls as well.


Don't know if you ever saw that old BBC classic TV show, "Yes, Minister", with the manipulative senior bureaucrat and the slightly stupid minister. One episode, the big disaster they were facing was that they had some new Health Minister - "some sort of health fanatic" - who was actually really trying to eliminate smoking. All the bureaucrats sat down and worked out how much revenue they'd lose. They sent him off to become Minister for North Ireland and replaced him with a chain smoker.

Regarding Australian prices, Melbourne is now one of the four most expensive cities in the world. Article in the paper this morning comparing prices there with around the world. A lot of things are about double the US prices. Hard to believe that rent there is now more expensive than London, Tokyo or New York. All to do with the mining boom and the incredibly strong dollar. Won't last, it's all tied to China.


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## indigosmoke (Sep 1, 2009)

Irfan said:


> Don't know if you ever saw that old BBC classic TV show, "Yes, Minister", with the manipulative senior bureaucrat and the slightly stupid minister. One episode, the big disaster they were facing was that they had some new Health Minister - "some sort of health fanatic" - who was actually really trying to eliminate smoking. All the bureaucrats sat down and worked out how much revenue they'd lose. They sent him off to become Minister for North Ireland and replaced him with a chain smoker.


It is nice to hear of someone else who is familiar with "Yes, Minster" and "Yes, Prime Minster", two of the best television shows ever created in my opinion. The episode you mention is a classic. I also love the part where Sir Humphrey explains to the PM that tobacco taxes help fund the National Health Service to the tune of 4 billion pounds a year so that, in fact, "smokers are actually sacrificing their own lives so that others can live longer, healthier lives," or something like that. I also love how he makes that point that we don't want a nanny state, but that is also the logic for legalizing pot and all the other illegal drugs. It's amazing how some things don't seem to change all that much. It's hard to believe but those shows are 25 years old now.

Anyone who is interested can watch the episode we are talking about here:

Watch Videos Online | Yes Prime Minister 1.3 - The Smoke Screen | Veoh.com

For anyone even remotely into politics the shows are great, but it is also just a very funny sitcom. The actors are all top notch and the scripts are brilliantly written. Even for those of us from the US the storylines are almost always directly applicable to what we hear on the news on a day to day basis.


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## Irfan (Dec 18, 2011)

indigosmoke said:


> Anyone who is interested can watch the episode we are talking about here:
> 
> Watch Videos Online | Yes Prime Minister 1.3 - The Smoke Screen | Veoh.com
> 
> For anyone even remotely into politics the shows are great, but it is also just a very funny sitcom. The actors are all top notch and the scripts are brilliantly written. Even for those of us from the US the storylines are almost always directly applicable to what we hear on the news on a day to day basis.


Thanks for the link. I just got home at about one in the morning, couldn't resist watching it even so. Hysterical! Improves with age. Nothing has changed, except the fashion in suits. Probably not even that's changed much.


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## steinr1 (Oct 22, 2010)

Theren is a new series of "Yes, Minister". I can't believe that the writers of the new one (made for an awful digital channel) will be a patch on Antony Jay and Jon Lynn. Biting satire.


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